SIYABONGA SITHOLE
The Gauteng Department of Infrastructure Development(GDID), which was contracted by the Gauteng department of education to oversee the R120 million construction of the Nancefield Primary School in Soweto, has denied that the project has been abandoned midway through construction.
This is after the Democratic Alliance (DA) shadow MEC of education, Khume Ramulifho, slammed the state of Nancefield Primary School ,whose construction remains incomplete almost two years after it should have been completed.
Speaking to this newspaper, a spokesperson for the Department of Infrastructure Development, Bongiwe Gambu, said over R68 million has already been spent after an allocation of R120 287 million was earmarked for the project that started in 2019.
Gambu said the services of the contractor by the name of Clear Choice Builders and AES Consulting as the Professional Service Provider were terminated by the department due to poor performance.
"The project has not been abandoned, but the contractor has been terminated due to non-performance, which has contributed to the delay of the project that was supposed to be completed by October 2021"Gambu said.
She said the termination of the contract took effect in January 2022.
"The contractor was terminated in January 2022 for non-performance. The new professional service provider was appointed in July and is in the process of preparing the completion contract documents," she said.
As a result of the termination of the contract, Gambu said the project is expected to be finalised and completed later than expected.
"It is expected that the process of procuring the completion contractor will be concluded in the last quarter of the 2022/23 financial year," Gambu said.
On Tuesday, during his oversight visit to the school, Ramulifho said Nancefield Primary School learners are being exposed to a terrible learning environment as they continue to be taught in old and dilapidated mobile classrooms due to the contractor having abandoned the project.
"This is unacceptable because of the safety and health risks involved, and these learners and teachers have waited far too long to move to the newly built school premises.
"What is most disappointing and disgraceful of the Department of Infrastructure and Development is that they still have not prioritised Nancefield Primary," Ramulifho said.
He said dust and weeds had begun to grow at the Nancefield Primary School construction site.
"We found building material being abandoned and left to gather dust.
"There has been no communication that stipulates whether the contract has been terminated or not," he said.